Spring Flood Season: Minnesota has the least amount of flood insurance coverage of any state in the country

Only three-tenths of a percentage of Minnesota homes have flood insurance, the lowest rate in the U.S.
Flooding on Harriet Island near downtown Saint Paul.
Flooding on Harriet Island near downtown Saint Paul. Photo credit (Getty Images / LynnKHansen)

As we head into the prime months for flooding, most Minnesotans are uninsured.

"Only three-tenths of a percentage of Minnesota homes, which we pay at fewer than 7,000, have flood insurance," says Aaron Cocking with the Insurance Federation of Minnesota. "We have the lowest rate in the entire United States."

Cocking says people think their homeowners policy protects them. Not so fast.

"That's actually not true," he says. "And I think a lot of people also think that the chances that, 'I'm actually gonna have something happen' are minimal and so I'm not going to fork out the premiums."

But he says it's imperative to start looking at flood insurance now.

"There's a 30-day waiting period before coverage begins so it's not like you can say, 'well, I'm just gonna wait and see,' which is why people need to be evaluating their risk now," Cocking explains.

Otherwise you're paying for repairs out of pocket and those pockets have been deep. Over the last decade, flooding has caused more than $1 billion in damage in Minnesota.

"Water can be incredibly destructive, floodwater, even more so because of how dirty it is and you know, it gets in and it gets everywhere and the cost to remediate and repair can be significantly expensive," Cocking said.

Cocking advises home owners to look into the National Flood Insurance Program with the average policy costing $950 dollars per year. Visit FloodSmart.gov for more information.

Featured Image Photo Credit: (Getty Images / LynnKHansen)